Sting of the Night
by TheSplitDragon
Summary: Nightpiercer was a dragonet born 18 years before The War of the Sandwing Succession. He struggles as he tries to find his place in the hostile smoke-choked home of the Nightwings. Getting into trouble and forming forbidden relationships, as well as making a mistake he can never recover from. Rated T for violence, gore, and suggestive themes in later chapters
1. Prologue

**This story is following the creation of my OC Nightwing Sandwing Hybrid known as Nightpeircer/Atomsplitter. This story will contain canon content showed from his Point of view and form relationships with canonical characters as well as make backgrounds for rarely seen characters without a proper backstory in the books.  
This story is based on the "Wings of Fire" book series by Tui T. Sutherland.**

* * *

 **Introduction**

The sky was full with the three bright full moons, his parents still believed that it should be done. They took him to the clearest area they could find in the hope the dim light through the smog would be enough to give their dragonet powers. Their names were Snowhunter and Shadowseer, both huddled side by side waiting for their dragonet.

Sitting in a warm crevasse made from lava runoff many years ago, the silvery egg started to hatch. Cracks spreading along its surface like an earthquake splitting the earth apart, nearly effortless across the fragile surface. The dragonet inside spilled out onto the hot stones, the tell-tale silver 'tear' of a future seer permanently marked him in the corner of both his eyes.

The first thing he saw was the bright silver glow of the moon, his eyes closing tightly for a short period of time as he adjusted to the blinding light. He heard the rumbling purrs and chuckles of his parents as he fell backward from looking up to high.

"Hello, little one..." A soft voice purred from the white dappled dragoness.

"Arwrk!" He squawked and reached for a glistening dragon that clung to the moon that dangled on a string as his mother lowered her head to nuzzle him with unlimited love.

"What's wrong with his tail?" A deeper voice rumbled suddenly causing the small dragonet to jump.

"Nothing, Nothing is wrong with his tail." His mother's voice was suddenly hostile and alarmed at the same time as she put her talon down in front of him as if to shield him from view.

"He has a _Sandwing_ tail! What do you mean nothing is wrong with it?!" His father's voice was suddenly twice as loud and filled with rage.

 _Why did he need to have the tail?_ "I can explain Shadowseer…" The softer voice defended, their wings flaring back slightly in a nervous reaction to being exposed.

The newly hatched dragonet watched with wide eyes as his parents argued, his head was hurting and he caught glimpses of flashing teeth and searing flames. Legs still wobbly and weak, he managed to push himself upright, and place his talon on his mother's. She looked down at him with a gentle gaze while his father growled at him with a piercing stare. He suddenly felt a burning pain across his snout and he was sent sprawling across the hard ground with an agonized squeal as rocks ripped along his belly. A looming shadow fell over him and lingered for a painfully long moment of silence before it suddenly disappeared as a sharp roar of fury split the smoke-choked atmosphere, as his mother suddenly struck out at Shadowseer to defend him. The commotion of the two dragons fighting drew the attention of neer by dragons on the rocky ledges of the volcano, all of which were peering at the quarrel and murmuring to each other.

The fighting Nightwings took to the air as Shadowseer raked his talons down Snowhunter's neck, dulled down from walking on the volcanic stones. His smaller mother was trying hopelessly to push his aggressive father away from her new hatchling. Shadowseer was having none of it. He took blow after blow from his mother's desperate attempts to fend him off but he kept advancing in his fury fueled by his burning sense of betrayal from the one he had loved. Fights like this weren't tolerated, the Nightwings did not have resources to heal injuries due to the isolation of their island from the mainland. In a matter of moments, guards were swarming them in a turmoil of dark wings surrounded the feuding dragons like ravens over freshly killed prey and for just an instant he saw a white splotched dragon plummet into the lava pit, followed by his father.

And for a moment, the dragonet saw nothing but a glistening dragon reaching for the moon.


	2. Into the World

**Into the World**

 ****

Nightpiercer was laying in the hatchery in a far corner while the other dragonets played, they never included him so he had given up trying. He always had to fight for any food brought by the adults- which was fairly easy, the many other dragonets that lived within the hatchery never wanted to eat anything he had touched because they thought they would get sick. He was the plague, they would often try to play a made-up game called "Cut the Stinger" and would try to cut off his stinger. _If it didn't hurt so much I'd let them._ Maybe then he would be accepted.

A bug skittered across his nose and his ears perked up he immediately caught it under his talon and dragged it across the ground. It was rare to find insects to play with or the stray mouse. Sometimes mice found their way from the new tunnel Stonemover built. But normally the grown-ups snapped those up.

"Hey!" A small yet bossy voice called to him and, as usual,he ignored it. "I'm tawking to you!" A group of younger dragonets ran over to him, cornering him as the one that called to him stepped on his talons.

"Ow! Stop that!" He growled, moving his talon away quickly and sitting up, the bug was crushed under his weight in the process, he felt the soft squish under his talons and quickly picked it up, wiping it on the rocks under him in disgust.

"You kiwwed it!" The dragonet cried out in a long wail as she scooped up the bug, poking it gently. "You killed Wainbow!"

"Do you even know what that is?" He snapped in irritation, his spines quivering in annoyance. The older of the dragonets hissed at him and gave him a firm shove in the side which made him fall over with a surprised huff.

"They know what a wainbow is dumby!" The black and purple dragonet growled angrily and raised her talon slamming it on his head and holding his muzzle shut. In response, he opened his wings and raised his haunches in the air in an attempt to squeeze away. The other two closed in and nipped at his scales but he was saved by the bell as usual as a Guard came and shooed them off. Nightpiercer was bigger than all the dragonets, he was kept here because no one wanted him and they didn't want a dragonet running around without parents. The guard glared at him for a long moment as he got up and rubbed his snout where it had been pinned before finally breaking the silence.

"You should leave."

"Huh? I mean, what?" Nightpiercer paused with his talon on his snout as he looked up at the Nightwing before him, his name was Prideful.

"You're big enough, go out there and find someone that will take you in. You are getting too big for the hatchery and you are making the mothers uncomfortable" He gestured to the dragonets that were making faces at him, but stopped as soon as the Guard pointed to them. "They are afraid you will hurt their dragonets or sting them.

"Oh… Uhm, y-yes Sir.." He stood up from his place, wincing when he shifted against a scale that had just been chewed on, he kept his head down respectfully though his tail trailed behind him dangerously, he didn't know how to curl it or that he even needed to after all he had no examples here.

The foul smell of the smog-filled his nose as he stepped out of the protective cave of the hatchery. It had been protected from the smog for the most part and whenever it got to smoggy within the cave the guards cleared it out with their wings. He looked back at Prideful who gave him the slightest nod, this gave him enough courage to walk out of the cave completely into the open. He saw dragons lined on jagged rock ledges, pushing each other for their own space while others simply landed on the hot stones to rest.

 _Okay… I can make friends… I'm nearly four I'm pretty much all grown up!_ That's what he would keep telling himself anyways. He walked across the hot stones away from the Volcano and towards the ocean, he assumed it would be cooler there meaning tired dragons would go there. Maybe he would find someone rested enough to talk to without getting his face burned off.  
Ash and soot fell from the sky almost like rain, and he could hear the occasional coughing fits from dragons… he always heard the stories that they were great and powerful. What was so great about this? He looked back and noticed that he was leaving footprints from all the ash which blanketed the hard sharp stones under it, the prints had a red tinge to them. His talons were bleeding from walking on the sharp volcanic stones, he hadn't even noticed. As he lifted his talon to look at the bottoms he heard a soft thud, muffled by all the ash. He looked up quickly, expecting it to be some hostile Nightwing that was to scold him about his tail, but instead, it was a dragon many years older than him. He blinked and tilted his head… He was always told he couldn't speak unless spoken too because he was a Hybrid and not a pure Nightwing. He had his own class system in this classless Kingdom.

"Who are you?" The scratchy deep voice demanded with such authority he nearly fell back.

"Nightpiercer..." He didn't want to push his luck with this dragon… One Hybrid dragonet going missing would be swept under the rug and forgotten about, he kept his answer simple and quick.

"Nightpiercer? Fitting name. Hmm, shame…You'd be a rather strong dragonet if it weren't for that tail." The large dragon turned away from him walking slow, proudly across the stones.

"Wait, the tail doesn't make me weak!" He bounded after the larger dragon, ignoring the pain in his talons as he landed heavily on sharp stones that easily penetrated his scales. The large dragon had a few scars along his haunches from fights years ago. He wasn't paying attention to him in the slightest ignoring him up until Nightpiercer got close enough to pin the tip of his tail down with his talon. "I can still be use-"

The dragon spun around quickly, nearly snapping his snout off in the process. "You don't fit my standards of dragonet, you do not need to be concerned about it unless you want me to chop off your tail.."

 _If he cuts off my tail I'll at least look normal…_ "Uhm… s-" He started nervously as he formed the answe in his head, but he was cut off when a dragon landed roughly behind him, running over quickly in bounding leaps. The dragon was someone he didn't recognize, but the dragons in front of her moved away in a hurry. Was it the Queen?

"Morrowseer!" The dragon roared as if she had been yelling at the dragon all day, she wasn't much bigger than him but dwarfed by the dragon she was scolding. "I thought mother told you to stop saying that to dragonets leaving the hatchery! You're going to scare him and it's kinda creepy."

The larger dragon named Morrowseer growled and lowered his head before correcting himself, moving his wing apologetically. "My apologies Princess Stargazer. It's just odd to me why your mother would allow such a thing to live in her Tribe..." He turned and moved away taking to the air before the Princess had a chance to scold him more.

"Annoying smog-brain..." The Princess muttered under her breath seemingly forgetting he was there for a moment. "Hello, I've never seen you before, you're the hybrid I heard about?" _Poor thing, mother cheated on his father and then they both got killed, how unfortunate_.

"Please don't bring that up…" He shook his head and put his talons over his ears, he didn't want to hear about his parents, he barely remembered them but it was still a hard topic.

"Bring what u- Oh! Oh, you can read minds! Right! That's why you have that tear! I forgot your parents did that!" Stargazer seemed excited by that, poking his tail by the barb in curiosity as she circled him, even poking the barb which made him jump and spin around.

"Don't do that! You will get stung!" _Is she crazy?!_ He stared in astonishment as the Princess started laughing, most would have seen it as a threat and he would have been pushed away, she thought it was… funny?

"So what? Stonemover has a tunnel to the Sandkingdome even if you did sting me I'd be fine. Can't say the same for you though. Mother would probably kill you on the spot if she found out it was you!"

 _To the Sandkingdome?_ "I thought the tunnel went to the Rainforest…" That's what he was always told anyway by the other dragonets.

"Really? Do you know nothing? Why would we want that? That would just be inviting creatures to come in and eat our eggs." Stargazer chuffed and sat down, graefully curling her tail around her talons. "Hey, do you wanna go hunting? Mother won't let me leave if I don't go with someone."

"Well uh… Actually…" _How do I explain without sounding like a complete idiot?_ "I've never actually flown before so, I don't think you'd even _want_ to take me, I mean why even trust me I could be a Sa-"

"'-A Sandwing spy?" She mocked a gasp of surprise and dramatically put her arm over her eyes. "Oh no! How could I have been so foolish? Allowing myself to get so close to a Sandwing spy that has never left the Hatchery! This is the end of the Nightwings!" Her dramatic acting drew the attention of a few dragons lounging by the murky water, grumbling in irritation at her loud acting. "You're fine, even if you were a spy I think I could handle you if you tried to attack me… I know how to teach you to fly real quick! Follow me!"

"Uhm… Are you sure about this Princess Stargazer?" He looked down the steep slope they were climbing, he felt dizzy as the ground far below seemed to tilt and spin from side to side.

"Of course I'm sure! You'll do great! And forget the formalities I won't tell anyone, just call me Stargazer okay?" She turned around and bit onto his wing, pulling him up the rest of the way suddenly, his other flaring for balance when he nearly went tumbling over the other side into the lava pit below. "Now jump."

"What?!" _She's crazy I knew it!_ "But I can't fly!"

"Do it, it's an order!" She let go of him and jumped off flying in place over the pit below him teasingly, he swore he caught a small grin plastered on her scaly face.

"What if I fall into the lava?! You're crazy!" His talons clutched the ground under him as he swayed in the hot air currents, his eyes stung from the smoke and ash surrounding him coming up from the lava below… it smelled horrible too like someone had left an egg in the water and let it rot.

"Then you die. I don't appreciate you calling me crazy! Now jump before I tell the guards you are threatening me!" She did effortless loops in the air in mockery of his lack of flight ability, twirling and spinning gracefully. He'd call her beautiful if she wasn't telling him to jump to his death.

"Fine... But if I die it's on you!" he took a step towards the edge and felt the ground crumbling under his talons, cracking as it collided with the walls of the Volcano. He knew she likely wouldn't care if he were to die but it was at least something to say in defiance. He opened his wings, flapping them hesitantly before he leaped off the edge, his wings open to slow him down. He felt the heat rushing towards him as well as the bright glow of the lava growing brighter as seconds passed. He flapped his wings frantically, huffing in the heavy air. He felt muscles in his chest that he had never used before as they worked hard to do what he told them to do. His wing clipped onto Stargazer's as he passed causing her to fall a few feet before she caught herself.

"Fly fly fly!" _He's going to die at this rate_. Her thought was panicked, not happy about the fact in the least. The Princess cared about his well being despite no one else caring other than his long-dead mother. His eyes narrowed as he stared at the quickly approaching lava, pain in his tail caused him to reel slightly spinning out of his own control for a moment, then with one final thrust of his wings he stopped falling. He flapped steady but faster than he probably should as he stared at the lava, if he let his tail drop it would burn. He looked up at Stargazer who cheered above him, looping in the air excitedly. "You did it see! I knew you could!"

"Sure, your thoughts said otherwise." He remarked with a slight grin as he lifted himself up and away from the lava to join her in the sky. "You said you wanted to go hunting right?"  
The Princess' eyes brightened at the question.

"Yes! We should take Stonemover's tunnel though, I don't think you'd make it over the ocean you're still a weakling for your age. You should be much bigger! Like me."

"You're barely even bigger than me!" He laughed lightly, ignoring the other dragons staring at him in disappointment... No doubt they were hoping he would plummet into the lava like his parents. "I can fly over the ocean it can't be that far can it?"

"You'd be surprised, well then if you don't want to do it I don't think that _I_ can make it over the ocean with all this excitement. Come with me, we can hunt in the mountains."

Defeated, Nightpiercer let out a long sigh nearly coughing when he reached the limit of his exhale. "Come on come on!" She dived towards the lava and pulled up slowly for a burst of speed as she went towards the far side of the island, it took him nearly a minute to catch up with her, landing heavily beside her. She wasn't even breaking a sweat and he felt like he could nap for the rest of the day. "I through here, I know it feels weird, but trust me, it's perfectly safe" There was a very…. Unnatural hole in the ground surrounded by stones. It felt like it shouldn't be there that it shouldn't exist, but when the Princess went in he was quick to follow.


	3. The Princess and the Hybrid

They emerged from the other side of the Animus tunnel, he had to squint at the blinding light as they exited the void like hole. It was as if the smog of the island had suddenly been cast away in a strong breeze, replacing the gloomy air with blinding white and yellows the likes he'd never seen. He felt his talons weaken as he adjusted to the light and saw the glimmering sand in front of him, the wind sending spirals of sand and small sand devils dancing across the dunes like a ballet, spinning gracefully before falling still once more. The sky was blue and clear with a few dappled clouds.

"Woah… Is this part of our territory?" His pupils were constricted as he stared at all the new sights, he took a deep breath in and for once he did not feel the need to cough after, different smells and a refreshing wave hit him. He wanted to stay like this forever.

"No, unfortunately. But we can hunt in the mountains its neutral ground for the most part so no one will care and there is plenty of food, like a mountain goat" She shook her head to free her spines and scales of dirt and pebbles. She gazed out at the sandy kingdom before them letting out a snort as she caught a breeze that sent sand into her nostrils before looking at the mountain range. "Come on before Burn finds us, she'd love to stuff you and put you on display."

 _Put me on display?_ "Burn is… the Sandwing Queen right?" He didn't know much about the Sandwings or who was in charge… He remembered, Oasis, Blister, Burn, and Blaze from the dragonet mothers teaching them and the few times they let a teacher come in and give him a lesson.

"No, she's Queen Oasis' daughter. She likes collecting strange things even though her mother often burns them." She sent out a burst of fire in his direction in example as she walked past, grinning as he brought his wing around to shield himself from the heat

"Uhm yeah, no thanks…" He followed her, now more wary than fascinated by the Kingdom of sand before them. As they approached the mountains he immediately hated it. It was humid and slippery, but not as hard to climb than the Volcanic rock. Easier to breathe than the air at the Volcano admittedly, but still annoyingly wet. "What was Morrowseer talking about?" He slipped on a rock and bumped his chin, causing him to bite his tongue as he spoke.

"Oh, that old dragon? Don't worry about it, he just doesn't like differences in Nightwings that's all. Don't worry, when I challenge for Queen the first thing I'll do is get rid of him!" She seemed...happy, maybe too happy when she said that.

"You're going to challenge? But what if you lose?" That worried him, Stargazer was his first friend! If she died to a challenge he'd be alone again, alone and lost without anyone to show him how to act like a Nightwing.

"Then I die, same as if you failed to fly. Same goes for me. I _want_ to be Queen no matter what!" She puffed up her chest pridefully, but her thoughts were swarming with 'what ifs' and worry. She didn't want to kill her mother… They had a good bond from what he could tell.

As Nightpiercer opened his mouth to talk again he heard a crack as a rock landed next to them and immediately turned his head to face it, his pupils constricting as he stared at the rock and then looked up, seeing something standing on a rock motionless. "What's that…?" He whispered softly as he stared at the creatures poor attempt to not be noticed, pressed against the rocks and barely breathing.  
Instead of answering him Stargazer leaped up onto the rock, propelling herself with her wings. The creature bleated in panic and went to jump for a higher rock, it's hind hooved foot slipping on the surface causing it to stumbled and not get enough force to reach its target. With a thud it collided with the rock it was aiming for and plummeted to the ground, colliding with rocks and rolling a few feet, stunned and in panic for its life the creature flailed its legs for traction. Stargazer quickly took the opportunity and jumped down from the rock where the goat had been originally to

sink her teeth into its shoulder, ripping the muscle so it couldn't run.

"Why didn't you kill it?" Nightpeircer made his way over to the dying animal, watching it struggle and let out short bleats of desperation and fear, its odd eyes bulging as it stared at the two dragons towering over it.

"Oh my god! You really don't know, do you? If we killed it then it would just die and rot, we want the animal to get an infection before it dies so the meat is more suited for us and no one steals it!" She gave him a sharp jab to the chest with her talon, not enough to hurt but it didn't feel great. "But, since it's your first hunt and all...We can eat it now!" Flashing a bloodstained grin the she-dragon ripped into the stomach, the mountain goat silently writhing before going still as life seep out of it.

"Aren't we meant to take it back…?" But he couldn't help himself, he started to dig in next to her, forgetting their ranks. A princess and a Hybrid sharing a kill with no argument or death threats. The heat from the Sand kingdom and the humidity of the mountain was a strange feeling, flecks of sand hitting his side at the slightest breeze while he stood on wet cool rocks.

Stargazer lifted her head, blood staining her muzzle but she quickly wiped it away with her tongue and talons. In a matter of moments the carcass was nearly gone, bones broken where they had been gnawed clean of their meat and some bones completely missing for the calcium and bone marrow within. "Wanna look around the desert?" She broke the calming silence of bone-crunching and meat tearing as she stood up quick and excited.

"I rather not end up in Burn's trophy room thank you very much." Nightpiercer retorted quickly as he picked his head up from the corpse with a hunk of meat in his mouth chewing it as he positioned it in his mouth to be swallowed moments later. "Remember, Hybrid? I doubt she'd kill me fast since I'm mixed with a Sandwing." He knew that nearly every tribe was against Hybrids, it was unnatural and unsettling, and for a NIGHTWING to be mixed bred, he was supposed to be superior to all the other tribes!

"Aw, well you're no fun! I think it would be fun to run away from Sandwing soldiers" She pushed the remains of the goat off the rocky edge so no one would see it if they patrolled this area.

"Fine… But if we get caught I'm leaving you behind." he huffed as he looked out into the sand. Stargazer would be safe if she was caught right? She'd be ransomed for gold since they were Nightwings and no one could kill Nightwings. Though would her mother even care? Stargazer was a challenger after all.

"Oh alright, but have fun explaining to the guards why you didn't come back with me." She grinned before trotting out into the sand, it looked easy enough. The sand pressing down and rolling away from under her talons like water to avoid her, however, it had no place to go and fell in on her talons everytime she put her foot down. Nightpiercer was quick to follow the hot sand covering the top of his talons and cradling them from all directions, it was an odd feeling, like the soot mothers brought into the nursery, just less fine and it didn't get stuck in his scales as much If he had to run he didn't think he'd be able to without looking like a complete fool. "See? Right over there in the distance! That blurry lump of stone is the 'Scorpion Den' some of the baddest Sandwing criminals live there."

"So I'm assuming we are going there then? Don't you think that the Sandwings would love to have a Nightwing princess?" He gave her a concerned look. If she were to go into the town then surely she would be ransomed right?

"Yeah... That's why _you_ get the honor of wearing these!" She sat down rather improperly, not even curling her tail around her talons like a royal normally would, she took off her diamond necklaces and dumped it on him. He was nearly weighed down by the sudden heaviness.

"Very funny, now really what are we meant to do with them? Bury them?"

"BURY THEM!?" She roared, placing her talon on her chest in an offended way. "How _dare_ you suggest burying my royal treasures!" Her tail lashed back and forth, something he wish he could do when he was frustrated. "You will wear them and keep them safe!" She rolled her eyes at him and stood up, beating her wings into flight as she flew into Queen Oasis' Territory, not far from the palace in the slightest.


	4. The Magic of Dragons

The heat was almost overwhelming, sure the volcano was hot but it wasn't a constant heat bearing down on them. The heat waves over the town made it seem further than it really was and made the nearby palace have a mythical looming presence over them. The flight only took fifteen minutes but it felt like an eternity. The smokey smell of dried and roasted lizards and snakes hit his nostrils and he let out a sigh of relief. He could hear the murmurs of dragons speaking in masses and angry shouting. The small town was overpopulated and as the two nightwings approached he could see that the streets were barely wide enough for two full grown dragons to walk side by side.

The pair set down just outside the city so they wouldn't land too close to an angry Sandwing's lashing tail which they seemed to wield uncaring for anyone else's safety but their own.

"Do you think they'll let us eat?" Stargazer trotted towards the town proudly without any hesitation, she wasn't worried about being a Nightwing princess in one of the most hostile places in Pyrrhia despite the attention of several male Sandwings suddenly being on her, eyeing the dragonet with cold black eyes.

"We don't have money unless we sell these diamonds." He lifted his talon to lift the bottom of the necklace, walking on his hind legs for a moment as he did which caused a few nearby Sandwings to hiss and a few smaller ones to take the opening as an opportunity to cross the street into the allies on the other side. Stargazer let out a plume of smoke in response and Nightpeircer figured he would stop bringing up the diamonds which he now realized were being eyed by several dragons.

The heat of the sun and the countless Sandwing bodies which also produced heat made the town feel even hotter than the desert outside and he suddenly felt the need to flee out of the town and spread out in the sand. He started to noticed how the Sandwings carried their tails, tucked up neatly or tucked down to hide under their tails. He stared at one of the deadly barbs and curled his own to match it.

A Sandwing stepped out of the shadows approaching Stargazer with a large grin on his face "Hey little lady… Yer a Nightwing… Ya must want someone killed I reckon?" He handed her a card with where to contact him and the price of his service, the card was ripped in several places and was stained with dried blood and old food. Stargazer huffed and didn't even lift her talons to take the card.

"Nightwings don't _need_ help killing other dragons, we have our own assassins that do their jobs for free. We certainly don't need a sand-snorting Sandwing to help us." She lashed her tail and swatted the card away to make her point, raising her chin proudly to stare at the adult Sandwing.

The Sandwing scrambled to catch the card but it was swept away by a gust of hot wind. His head snapped back to the pair with his eyes narrowed dangerously "Not even that freaky lookin' Sandwing behind ya…" He growled and poised his tail like a scorpion, taking a step forwards. In response, Nightpiercer raised his tail above his own head and stepped in front of Stargazer.

"Back off sand-snorter! Official Nightwing business, step aside…" It was something they were trained to say at birth, they memorized it for when they were free to leave the island and ran into another Tribe. His eyes narrowed as he analyzed the threat before them, almost three times their size and muscular. _Weak hind leg, a target for if he attacks, he seems to have his head turned to the right… he must see from his left eye better, stay on his bad side and he might retreat during a-_

His body stiffened and his blood went cold when the Sandwing suddenly reared up on his hind legs and bellowed at the top of his lungs. "Guards! We have another one for Princess Burn!" The Sandwing roared out and swept his tail around, aiming for Stargazer's skull. In a split second, Nighpiercer lowered his tail and lunged forwards, sinking his teeth into the Sandwing's tail just below the barb. He was overwhelmed with the smell of venom but hang on tight as Stargazer took to the sky.

There were screams as citizens ran into their homes or into allies as Large armored Sandwings came from many directions towards the pair of Nightwings. His wings beat frantically as he tried to get into the air letting go of the Sandwings tail and swung his tail around to sting him in the throat. A gurgling roar came from his mouth and he fled into the ally.

"Get it! Queen Oasis needs this Nightwing alive, Queen Oasis would love to have a Nightwing prisoner!" The Sandwing guards were hot on his tail, their talons outstretched towards Nightpiercer. He snarled lashed his tail back and forth causing the guards to draw back for a moment before continuing forwards.

He felt talons rake down his back and he roared in fury, dipping to the east towards the Skywing Territory. "Stargazer, get home! Don't worry about me." If he returned home and not the princess, then he'd be killed by the current Queen or by the guards. He watched as Stargazer looked over her shoulder at him and went in the opposite direction, all the guards followed him as he expected them too.

He heard a hissing behind him and felt a wave of horror rake through his body, a wave of heat wash over him followed by searing pain across his wing, he tucked his wing in instinctively which caused him to plummet towards the ground. His eyes frantically scanned for somewhere to hide, the haunting chuffs of the Sandwing guards laughing at him close behind. They were going to let him die. Then he heard a familiar roar of fury behind them and he turned mid-air as he fell, flapping his wings to steady himself with his talons outstretched in defense. He saw in the distance the figure of a Nightwing being attacked by a lone Sandwing, not a guard, he couldn't see the glinting armor.

He felt something inside him, something in his stomach chest that made him infuriated. With an enraged roar that shook his body, he suddenly flung himself up towards the Sandwings. Their thoughts of confusion then fear filled his mind causing him to waver slightly as they spread their wings so they wouldn't end up colliding full speed with the dragonet, but he plowed through them anyways. His tail scratched each of them on the arm and he tackled the third which had been in the back. They spiraled from the force of the collision, the Sandwing in his talons clutching the base of his wings trying to pull them down. A hissing rose in the Sandwings throat as it built up heat, but Nightpiercer was fast to think he grabbed the jaws of the Sandwing and snapped them shut as soon as the hissing evolved into a burst of flame, before he even realized what he was doing his tail swung over his head and found its destination in the guard's skull, injecting venom before pulling it out allow the guard to plummet to the ground in a soundless roar.

He flapped his wings in a desperate flurry as he watched the distant Sandwing attempting to sting the Nightwing princess who kept moving just out of range of the deadly barb through powerful yet clumsy strokes of her wings, breathing fire and roaring to keep the Sandwing just out of sting range. She was trained how to fight each tribe, she knew how they fought while Nightpiercer didn't know in the slightest. There was a sickening roar as another Sandwing came up from behind and grabbed Stargazer by the wings and held her still so the other could sting her, the princess writhing and lashing in his clutches, clawing at the air in fury.

He didn't know what compelled him, but his talons tightly gripped the necklace around his neck and with a jerk broke the chain free. "Kill them! Kill them now before they kill her!"The world around him seemed to grow cold and his vision blurred as flashes of crimson and blues clouded his vision and a dragon that had been reaching for the moon plummeted to the ground.

Then the necklace shot away from him, the diamonds breaking free from their chains impaling the two Sandwing guards.


	5. Consequences

"So let me get this straight." The startled voice repeated. " You're…. An animus?" This was the seventh time she's asked this in the past ten minutes, and once again Nightpiercer sighed and stomped his foot in irritation

"I guess." He paused, remembering the next question that had followed previously. "And before you ask why I didn't say something it's because I _didn't_ know." They sat in the healing cave, talking over annoyed hisses as dragons tried to clean the Princess' injuries but for the most part ignored him. They couldn't do much for his burns, he'd live through them so they wouldn't waste anything for a hybrid like him. The sound of claws clicking on the cave floor caught his attention and he looked up, Prideful was entering the cave, he looked disappointed… or was that sadness?

"The Queen would like to see the both of you" Prideful's voice was anything but. He seemed solemn and his tail swayed slowly across the ground behind him, causing a few pebbled to break loose from their volcanic prison and roll down the small slope. He gave Nightpiercer a look that sent a shiver down his spine. The Queen wanted to see _him_ not Stargazer, but she requested the both of them…

"Why does mother want to see us?" Stargazer growled and lashed her tail, she didn't really like her mother despite their good bond, she was able to fake it so well that even he was startled by her tone. Yet her mother adored her not knowing her dragonet wanted to take her thrown the moment she found the chance. The irritated princess stood up and shook her body, swiping at a healer that attempted to make her sit back down with an undignified hiss. "She's not going to hurt him for saving me…"

Prideful only gave a slight nod to the princess' reaction then gestured with his wings for them to follow, and so they did with great hesitation. "The Queen is disappointed in the both of you for leaving without permission, and getting so close to Queen Oasis' stronghold."

Stargazer hissed at Prideful as they took into the air, she looked like she wanted to rip his tongue out for speaking. "How do you know where we went?!" She demanded with such hostility that even Nightpiercer wanted to shed away and not get near her for all the prey in the world.

Prideful didn't react, he knew that reacting would be the worse thing he could do in this situation if the Princess attacked him he wouldn't be able to fight back if he were to injure her the Queen would punish him. "Spys, the Guards noticed you leaving and they sent a few spies after you." _They always have you being followed Stargazer_ His thoughts rung out in Nightpiercer's mind and made him growl slightly. They were always watching Stargazer, so they know I'm an animus? Well… they do now that Stargazer was blurting it out in the healing cave even if they hadn't before.

Prideful suddenly angled down towards the actual volcano, magma bubbling around a small cave which he dived in, just barely avoiding collision with the sides with Stargazer close on his tail, likely she was trying to bite it. Nightpiercer wasn't as confident and landed before entering the cave, he didn't want to break his wings trying to get to the Queen, especially if he was being punished.

The cave was dark, only the dim lighting of magma allowed any vision at all. The air was thick and heavy and every breath made Nightpiercer's lungs sting and scream for fresh air, he was forced to resort to open mouth breathing to even get enough air to not feel light headed and even then the toxic fumes and gases made him feel sluggish no matter how little or much he tried to breath. He could barely see the tail in front of him, and he only did because of a shining scale along Stargazer's tail that reflected the dim lighting like a dying beacon, flickering in and out of existence. The light of her tail vanished as the ground suddenly slopped down at a steep angle, he felt his claws slipping and he went forward without any traction, he was prepared to bump into Stargazer's rear and get met with sharp talons and fire but instead he felt emptiness, he wasn't the only one that had slipped, both Prideful and Stargazer had slid down the slope but they did it intentionally.

Light filled the cave and he had to squeeze his eyes shut to adjust to the sudden brightness, a waterfall of magma ran into a moat, in the center of it was another cave with a small opening, just big enough for one adult dragon to squeeze out of. The two dragons in front of him jumped into the hole without hesitation and he quickly followed, his claws scraping the rocky entrance which was sharp and cut his talons. He nearly fell back when he entered the cave, glaring at them from the back was a huge Nightwing covered in diamond and obsidian jewels, her already black scales embedded with jet black obsidian which glistened in the light, her tongue flicking in and out of her mouth. Diamond chains laced her horns and ran down her body like a beautified harness that didn't restrict movement making her look imposing and in charge as if her size didn't do that alone. The Queen of the Nightwings radiated authority. He noticed Prideful sinking to the ground in a deep bow while Stargazer stood defiantly with her chest extended and her head held high. He felt a shiver down his spine and looked up to the Queen to be met with piercing dark green eyes. He was a hybrid, one that endangered her daughter.

And she was staring him down.

* * *

"Nightpiercer, son of Snowhunter. You are here today to be punished, for endangering my daughter's life and for leaving the island under ten years of age." The Queen's voice was booming, nothing like Stargazer'softerng more alluring way of speech. The punishment of endangering the Princess was death, and for leaving the island before ten normally meant prison until ten years of age even if you were a one-year-old dragonet, and he had done both. "Prideful, since you have been the guardian of this dragonet you shall be the one to punish him. Push him into the lava." She waved her talon dismissively, she didn't care for him and it wouldn't be a loss to the tribe in her opinion.

"What?!" Stargazer roared in in fury and spread her wings. "He saved my _life_ mother! He killed five Sandwing guards to protect me! If anything he's made us seem more powerful if a single Nightwing Dragonet can kill their guards! Tribes are probably terrified of us now!" Her tail lashed so furiously that they had to step back to avoid being hit with her thick tail.

The Queen narrowed her eyes at her daughter. "Are you challenging me…? At such a young age…" She rose from her throne and spread her wings threateningly. "If you have a better idea then speak now! Otherwise, he will be killed." Rocks crumbled under her talon, he saw dried blood covering the floor and where she stood brighter glistening blood on top of it as small shards pierced her flesh.

Stargazer lifted her head staring her mother in the eyes. He felt the thoughts radiating through the air as if they were yelling at each other, one proud, one hateful. "He will be my bodyguard."

Prideful's wings twitched and the Queen drew her head back in surprise. " _Him_ , a _hybrid_ being your bodyguard!? Stargazer surely you have lost your mind! He can't protect you."

 _He already has_ Stargazer kept her eyes locked with her mother as she nodded. "He already has, better than any other Nightwing bodyguard could, and he terrified the Sandwing Soldiers, they won't be challenging us anytime soon and they will spread rumors of our powers." Her tail whipped back and forth but her wings were starting to relax, her mother was thinking.

"Very well." The Queen finally spoke after a long while. "He will be your bodyguard, but if he fails he will be put to death and killed by _you_ " She grinned down at them, pleased with her decision. She gave her daughter what she wanted with an even worse punishment. She raised to her hind legs and clapped her talons twice, a single Nightwing guard emerged from the shadows and handed him something burning hot and metallic before retreating out of the cave. "Now, leave me at once, _he_ can sleep in the hallway to ensure nothing gets in to assassinate you." The darkness started laughing as the Queen's own bodyguards emerged from the shadows, summoned by a subtle movement that he must have missed. All of them were gathering fire in their throat, the cave filling with hisses that echoed in the cave, he glanced at Stargazer and she quickly darted out of the room followed by Prideful. He realized what was happening and he took off after them, feeling the flames of many dragons licking at his tail as if they were attempting to boil his stinger off.

* * *

"Well, that was fun!" Stargazer said in overexcited sarcasm, they were in what they called the palace, which was really just a carved out section in the volcano with camel skin rugs, the hide of one of every tribe dragon hanging on the wall other than a Rainwing hide. Those were apparently boring and ugly once they weren't alive anymore, turning grey or white or sometimes just a pale green once dead. There were paintings after every other cave, mostly of the Queen and a few of Stargazer and the long-dead royals he didn't recognize from any book. They were all smudged with soot and ash and some had burns around the scroll they were drawn on. Likely from the volcanic eruption a few years before his hatching which collapsed the treasury on the other side of the island. He was so focused looking at the images and trying to figure out when they were made and who they were to noticed the Nightwing maid carrying a rotting camel leg down the hall, who he promptly bumped into causing the meal to dump onto the ground.

The maid hissed, "Hey- watch it you little br- O-oh! Princess! I apologize I didn't realize this dragonet was with you." She scrambled to pick up the dropped meal before it got stained by the rocks, her talons picking up every small piece they could grip. Once gathered up she started on her way again but Stargazer took the plate. "W-wait that's for the Qu-"

"The Queen? Tell her I was hungry after nearly being killed by Sandwings, just go get her another" Stargazer snapped at the maid, she was much bigger than the Princess but she flinched away and took off down the hall.

"Why'd you do that?" That didn't seem to nice… sure she was about to scold and yell at him, but she was just trying to do her job. She couldn't get mad at the maid for doing her job.

He waited for a response but got nothing as they continued walking, Stargazer throwing back some camel skin for him to eat which he barely caught in his front talons. He tasted it hesitantly, before shoving the rest of it into his mouth as if he thought someone was to come out any moment to take it from him. "Where are we going?"

" _I'm_ going to bed, you should do the same." She sounded very annoyed, not waiting for him as she entered her cave. "You are not to enter." She snapped as she disappeared into the darkness.

Nightpiercer stood outside her cave awkwardly, unsure of what to do. The Queen said he would sleep in the halls… but the floor was sharp under the burnt camel rugs and the fur that was there was itchy and irritating. He looked down at the necklace in his talons, wiping off the camel skin that had tainted it. His wings drooped and he felt a tightness in his chest as he stared at it. The necklace was silver, glistening like a star in a cloudless sky, the necklace that only Royal guards were supposed to wear around their necks. It was a dragon clinging to the moon on one side, and on the other, the dragon was reaching for the moon. He held his breath and closed his eyes tightly, raising his talon to lightly touch the faint scar on his snout where his father had struck him on his hatching day.  
Hesitantly he put the chain over his neck and held it for a long moment until he heard rocks crumbling further down the hall. Curiosity pulled him and he slowly crept down the hall, his talons gripping the camel skin rugs which provided enough cushioning to not cut his talons. The further he went the steeper the drop became until he was basically sliding at a controlled speed until he was forced to swing his tail to avoid crashing into the wall at the end of the hall, he swerved to the left needing to jump to stop completely. However, as he landed instead of coming to a slow trot he collided with hard muscular scales with a surprised grunt.  
"What are you doing here Hybrid?" A deep rumbling voice growled at him then he felt talons on his head, effortlessly pushing him back so he wasn't pressed against the other. The dragon before him was big, smaller than the Queen but dwarfed him completely, scars lining his legs from laying on the rocks.

He dipped his head immediately to show respect "O-oh, Uhm. Sorry, Morrowseer.." He recognized the larger dragon from earlier today. His apology was met with a grunt, right, right he was asked a question! "I was just looking around, I've never been here before."

Morrowseer huffed, he sounded amused as he put his talon back on the ground and tilted his head curiously. "And you shouldn't be down here at all. This is only for Dragons close to the Queen, such as guards and myself." He sat down on the rug, curling his tail to the side of his body.

"Oh! Well, funny story. Uh, I actually am a guard now." He raised his head proudly with a smile, he felt the vibrations of Morrowseer's laughter.

"What are you guarding?" Morrowseer mused and reached out with his talon to poke his head. "The hallway?" Stargazer made Morrowseer seem… well, cruel and creepy. But as he spoke to the giant dragon he was starting to like him.

"I'm Princess Stargazer's personal bodyguard. It's a punishment I guess for leaving the island with her and almost getting her killed." He didn't think it was a punishment, he thought she was nice and sweet and beautiful, but the sorry look on Morrowseer's face made it clear that he thought otherwise.

"I feel sorry for you dragonet, being assigned her must be a true burden. She's always getting into trouble and sneaking away, she killed her last bodyguard because she was doing her job by attacking a Mudwing that had seen her." Morrowseer shook himself out as he stood. "If I was her bodyguard she wouldn't be leaving the island until her tenth hatching day like every other dragonet." He scanned the bottom of his talons and shook them off to get small shards of rocks out of them, a few blood drops splattering against the wall and floor. "Hm… Don't fail dragonet. You may have potential in the future if the Queen trusts you with her daughter." Before Nighpiercer could get another word out the large dragon turned away, his tail slithering along the ground behind him as he turned the corner and out of sight.


End file.
